Basic vi Reference Sheet

Starting vi
vi	Starts vi without a file
vi filename	Starts vi and loads filename

Getting Help
:viusage (or) :help	Lists all vi commands
:viusage command (or) :help command	Gives short help on the vi command command

Moving the Cursor
l	Right one space
h	Left one space
k	Up one line
j	Down one line
w	Right one word
b	Left one word
$	End of line
0 (zero) or ^	Beginning of line
)	End of sentence
(	Beginning of sentence
}	End of paragraph
{	Beginning of paragraph

Moving the View
Ctrl-D	Forward one-half screenful
Ctrl-U	Backward one-half screenful
Ctrl-F	Forward one screenful
Ctrl-B	Backward one screenful

Searching/Replacing
/regex	Search forward for regex
?regex	Search backward for regex
n	Repeat original search exactly
N	Repeat original search in the opposite direction
:s[address]/search-string/replacement-string/[g]
Replace search-string with replacement-string. · [address] is one number or two numbers separated by a comma, indicating which lines to search in. A . (dot) indicates the current line, and a $ (dollar sign) indicates the last line. · If [g] is present, it will replace more than once per line, otherwise it won’t.

Adding Text	(These commands put vi in “insert mode”. To return to “command mode”, press ESC.)
i	Insert text before cursor
I	Insert text before first nonblank character on line
a	Insert text after cursor
A	Insert text at end of line
o	Open a line below current line
O	Open a line after current line
r	Replace the current character (no need to use ESC)
R	Replace characters, starting with the current character (ESC quits)

Deleting Text
x	Delete the current character
X	Delete the character before the current character
dd	Delete the current line
D	Delete to the end of the current line

Miscellaneous
J	Joins the current line and the following line
.	Repeats the most recent command that made a change
:w filename	Write the file as filename
:q	Quit vi
:q!	Quit vi without saving changes
ZZ	Writes to current filename and exits

Copying and Pasting	(the”Delete” commands also copy to the buffer)
yy	Yank the current line to the unnamed buffer
Y	Yank to the end of the current line to the unnamed buffer
P	Puts buffer text before the cursor position
p	Puts buffer text after the cursor position